t.s. eliot and the old testament

My journey at Regent College is officially underway. For two weeks I studied the New Testament's use of the Old Testament with Rikk Watts. This past week I studied T.S. Eliot with Maxine Hancock. I also began my work as the Worship and Music Director at Regent College. I have had the privilege of leading in worship with Marva Dawn, Jim Houston, Tim Botts and many other incredible speakers. With so much new information being fed into my brain it would be easy for me to try and regurgitate for you all of my new found "wisdom". However, I will spare you from what would surely be a painful summary.

I will say that these first two classes have only confirmed for me why I believe I'm supposed to be at Regent. To go from studying the Bible intensively for two weeks and then switch gears to studying T.S. Eliot was not the seismic shift I thought it would be. Of course, I should not have been surprised by this; so much of Scripture is poetry. Conversely, T.S. Eliot drew on many sources for his work including the Bible. So far I have begun research for two papers. First, the Psalms in the New Testament (particularly the lament psalms in the passion narratives). Second, T.S. Eliot's use of the Old Testament (particularly his use of Ezekiel 36-37). I am excited about working on both of these papers at the same time. While T.S. Eliot is not the inspired word of God he was certainly inspired by the word of God. Both require proper exegesis.

From Eliot's own notes we know that the following lines in The Waste Land were drawn from Ezekiel 2:7:

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

Comments

[Bryan Burton]

Brian,

Again thank you for your depth of insight. Your commitment to worship, the Scriptures, and power of art, including TS Eliot. It moves me deeply.